Automatic multicolor airpainting apparatus



Sept. 16, 1952 J. A. PAASCHE 2,610,578

AUTOMATIC MULTICOLORAIR PAINTING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18, 1947 5 SheetsSheet 1 g1. W M

,J IN VEN TOR.

pt. 16, 952 J. A. PAASCHE 2,610,573

AUTOMATI C MULTICOLOR AIR PAINTING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18. 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR.

Ji 6 dfwwe p 6, 1952 J. A. PAASCHE 2,610,578

AUTOMATIC MULTICOLOR AIR PAINTING, APF ARATUS 947 5 Sh Filed Sept. 18, l sets-Sheet 3 AUTOMATIC MULTICOLOR AIR PAINTING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18, 1947 Sept. 16, 1952 J. A. PAASCHE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 WAY BY M VI'J'lI/IIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIu/IIIIIIIII/14 .Illl

Sept. 16, 1952 J. A. PAASCHE AUTOMATIC MULTICOLOR AIR PAINTING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18. 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 IIIIllllllllliiilllllll V l Patented Sept. 16, ,1952

;,UNIT%ED srArEs EN OFFICE AUTOMATIC MULTICOLOB' AIRPAINTING APPARATUS Jens A.Paasche, Chicagm-lltfl v Application September 18, 1947, SeriaglN'ol'Z 'Mfiili I I painting a plu'rality'of objects with a plurality of colors in crdei'toprepare-the-object for sale. In

the past;- this operation-has been accomplished bypainting --the'- objects by hand, thereby increas-- in? the costof manufacturer Therefore, it is desirableto' providean' automatic multbcolor painting' apparatus avh-ich is: relatively simple and w11ich-is"easily adaptedior the automatic paintg ing ofvariousobjects.-' I

Iri' accordance with' the present invention, an automatic 'mul-ti-color airpainting or airfinishing' apparatusis provided which utilizes I a plurality of sp tay' guns or'airbrushes which arecontrolled so as to beoperative periodically to paint objects brought in the proximity of the-guns by a contiriuously-movingy mechanism: Such a mechanismimaycomprise' a "support" on which a 'conveyor'chainis-mounted, the conveyor chain be-- ing adaptedto-.-carry and position a plurality of article supports-intoth range of the spray guns or airbrushes; Au-tomaticmeans are provided for 11 Claims: (CL-101994151): 7

for'the spraying-operation;

exposingthe various areas of the object to be airpainted and controlling the duration of the spraying process --;by the airbrushes in synchronismiwith the-movement of'the-conveyorchain I Means-tare also provided for cleaning the paint:

laden-exhaust airdoeiore exhausting the same" back intotheroonii v I It--'theref ore-isan object of the present'inven tion ztoxprovide 9, niulti-color"airpainting appa:

rat-us which is relativelysimple and economical toimanufa'cturer Another object of "the present invention is to.

providean automatic airpain'ting apparatus hay-i ing a plurality ;of --spray guns "or airbrushes a1? rangedis move in synchronismwith articles to V It stil-l ancther object of'itilie present inven;

tion -to'*=-provide%ari 1 automatic airpaintingi-appa ratus haying means*whichfautomatically expose the ccompanying drawings; wlrierei-nc v I in; e-"l is aperspeetiv' View" of. air automatic" lor airpainti-n'gapparatus "embodying thepreset-1 rivention; 2

Figure 2 is a sectional-view -takewalong th line 2- z 'of- Figure 1 with aporti'on of" the conveyor chain broken-away;-

rig -description taken in connection "with Figure 3 is a front'view of th'eairpainting appa-' ratus and control mechanism of same, as shown irr Figure l, with the housings broken away;

Figure'4 is a top view of the spraying apparatus shown'in Figure 3 Figure 5 is a sectional view oi'the control mechanismof the airpainting apparatus taken along the line-545 of Figure 3;

fFigure' fi is' 'asection al 'view taken along the linea -60f Figure l; I

Figure-7 shows th'e'cam Wheel and rider in de-t tailed 'se'ction,'--which positions the stencil plate Figured; shows the control mechanism for de termining the spraying time liigure 9 "is an enlarged view, partially in cross section, of the cushioning cylinder; Figure- 10 islan enlarged view or a support and stencil plate;

Figure 11 is a cross'sectional view of the stencil plate andsupport taken along the. line lit-H in Figurefii; and

Referring more particularly to Figure 1 of the drawings,-there is shown an automatic multificolor airpainting apparatus having a support or base it on "which said apparatus is mounted, as

shown in the drawings A continuous conveyor chain 12 is mounted adjacent the top of the support iii and adapted to' be moved continuously around the support" Ill, as will be described subsequently; Article supports' li-l are" mounted on the'conveyorchain I2 which comprise article sup-.

port 'shafts hi extending upwardly from the conveyor chain l2 'Withp, cross blade support IE5 at, the upper end of, the article'support shafts. The

crossblade supports I 5 are adapted to hold the object to be coated by any suitablermeans, such as holes adapted'to received a depending portion l'lfas 'shown inFigure 12;"ona typical object which mightbe coated with this device. A hood It is mounted over a portion of the conveyor chain 12; the hoodiisprovided-with a vent pipe 5 il throu'gh" which cleansed exhaust gases may beexhausted; The hood I6 is provided for the pur pose of cleaning the paint-laden airbefore its ex-.

haustion'into'the atmosphere. It ismore specifically' described in my "co-pending application,

Serial No. 545,812, now Patent No. 2,547,884; but

may be generally -described 'asfollows: the hood l6: has'an openfront',lfla and two side apertures 30 and 31 tapermitftheconveyor chain, with thearticleisupports13 and the objects lcarried thereon, to enterand leave the hood I6. The hood l6 extends forwardly'of'the support land is provided with a shelf Zion which'the spraying unit, shoWn'generally-as'28,"is mounted. Awatertank zl-is located'beneath the lio'od'and is adapted to hold a supply of water. Water pipe 26 is mounted on and extends into the lower portion of the tank and is adapted to conduct water from the tank to a water pump which is adapted to pump the water upwardly through pipe 24 which carries the water to spray nozzles, not shown,

within the closed portion of the hood I6. In oper-- ation, as the paint-laden air is formed in the open front portion I 'I of the hood I6, a fan, not shown, pulls the air into the sprayin chamber of hood I6 where the paint and other particles are removed from the air by means of the continuous water spray. Paint and other impurities removed from the air are carried by the water through a drain pipe, not shown, back into the water tank where they collect and may be removed.

Motor 32, seen best in Figure 2, isprovided for driving the conveyor belt I2 and the spraying unit, later tobe described. The motor is mounted on support I8 and drives a speed reducer unit 39, also mounted on support I8,by means of a belt which connects pulley wheel 34 with the motor 32 and pulley wheel 36 of thespeed reducer 39. A shaft 4I extends upwardly from the speed reducer 39 and has a horizontally mounted sprocket wheel 38 afiixed adjacent its end which is adapted to mesh with the links of the conveyor belt chain I2 to continuously drive the chain I2 in the desired direction. The pulley wheel 36, which drives the speed reducer 39, is supported in a bushing provided by the housing of speed reducer 39. Supports 42 and 46 are provided to furnish additional support to the shaft 44. A second speed reducer 50 is mounted adjacent the other end of shaft 44 and a coupling means 48 is provided to accomplish the connection between shaft 44 and a shaft 52 which extends from the speed reducer 50. A shaft 54 extends'at right angles from shaft 52 out of the speed reducer 58 and has positioned adjacent its end a sprocket wheel 56, shown in Figure 6. A chain 58 is positioned about a portion of the periphery of the sprocket wheel 56 and serves to drive a shaft 68 through a sprocket wheel 6| mounted thereon. Cam wheels 62, 64 and 66 are mounted on'shaf-t 68, these wheels controlling the vertical movement of the bracket 68 upon which the stencil plates II! are mounted, the opening and closing of valve I2, shown in Figure 8, which controls the supply of air used in operating the spray guns or airbrushes I6, and horizontal movement of the platform 14 of the carriage 82 upon which the brackets which support the airbrushes I6 and stencil plates III are mounted, respectively. Figure 6, that shaft 68 is supported at intervals, such means shown in the drawings as supports 18 and 19, the latter being mounted on the rear wall of housing 88.

Carriage 82, as best seen in Figure 3, is mounted on a support 84 which is itself supported on shelf 27. The support 84 is comprised of end walls 85 which are supported by shelf 21, a rod 92 secured at its end to the end wall 85, and two parallel tracks I 08 and III! mounted in a similar fashion adjacent the top of the end walls 85 and It should be noted, as shown in in substantially parallel relation toshelf 21. The

'4. to that of rod 32. Another axle 83 is passed through the housing 86 and has mounted adjacent one end, and exteriorly of the housing 86, a self-oiling bearing wheel 94 adapted to ride upon the'cam wheel 66. A dash pot S6 is positioned within the carriage 82, having at its one end a bracket 98 attached to axle 93 of the housing and at'its other end a second bracket member IiJG'adap-ted to be pivotally secured to the end wall 85 of support 84 by means of a bracket Ifll and a pin I03. The dash pot 96, shown in Figure 9, is comprised of a piston I58 slidably mounted in a housing I5! and operatively connected to bracket 98 by means of a connecting arm I59. A spring I60 is positioned intermediate the piston and the end wall of the housing I58 to urge the piston and connecting arm to the other end of the housing I51. The end wall I8! at this end of the housing I51 is provided with an orifice I62 through which the air exhaustedby the piston must pass. A nozzle IE4 is provided at the outer end of the orifice I62 'so that the rate of air exhausted might be controlled. The dash potst serves to urge wheel 94 continuously against cam wheel 66. Also mounted on carriage 82 is a bracket I82 which has depending flanges adapted to be attached to the opposite Walls of the carriage 82. An aperture I44 is provided adjacent the middle of support I I32 through which a bolt orthe like may be mounted and on which a roller wheel I06 is rotatably mounted in a horizontal position. Wheel I85 is adapted to support the carriage in upright positionby reason of its being positioned between the two tracks I88 and III of the support 84, as heretofore described.

The controlled movement of the carriage 82 during the operation of the device in the light of the above discussion is as follows: as shaft 60 is rotated, cam-wheel 66 is likewise rotated and to wheel 34 is imparted a controlled horizontal initialposition holds a cam follower II2 which isrotatably mounted on the end of support rod I I4 on which the supporting arm 68 and stencil plate ID are positioned, in a plane above that of the object to be sprayed. At the same instant, cam

wheel 64 is positioned substantially as shown in Figure 8 so that the lug I20 on its outer periphery is not in contact with the cam follower I2I on arm H9 so that no :air is being released for spraying purposes.- At this instant the carriage 82 is drawn by the dash pot 96 to a retracted position, as shown in Figure 3. As the shaft 60 continues to rotate. the airbrushes 16, which are mounted on support brackets I I6, which in turn are affixed to the carriage 82, and the stencil plate I0 which is likewise affixed to the carriage by means of bracket II8, begin to move in syn,- chronism with the conveyor chain which passes beneath them. Continued, rotation of shaft 68 causes cam wheel 62 to be positioned substantially as shown in Figure '7 with the stencil plates I0 positionedimmediately over and adjacent to the surfaces of the object 8 to be sprayed or painted. This is best seen in Figure 11. Cam

WhleBA:OPQFMBGSYGJYQ 12'. by depli ssingi c; i1.-arn.1'- Il.9. thus. depressing valve stem 1 2.3-. As the, lug. I 20:.- of :thecam wheel .64. contacts the. end .of the: arm/1L9, compressed airiis conductedduri gthis contact period through airline .-I 46 to the air 5 brushes 1.6 for-spraying the areas I exposed bythe.

' apertures-.63: provided in. the stencil plates/10,.

rasggumnsa of, the spraying-period. is 'deter minedrby' thelength of-lug- I29, oncamlrwheel fil and'gspeedat vvhich thewheel isdriven, On fur; 10

then. rotationzo frshait fifigcarriage 8211s .Withrv drawn to-the;positionindicatedin Figure. 3, thisv distancebeinglequalftothe distance between c0n-..;

secutivei. objects 8 torbe: painted, and the stencil plates I0 are simultaneously..rais,ed{...,.The above.

discussion indicates the Joperation .or the. device for.. one revolution oflsha'ft 6G. andiurther rota: tionioi shaft; 6 [would produce similar. cycles;v

. The supporting means Lfoi: the.- airbrushes 1.011,.

. spray. guns 1176. is comprisedoia socket member.

IZZafiiXed to thee'xterior wall Biiofthecarriage, 82; ,..ro,d--,l 2.4.. Eadapted .topbe inserted within. thisQbracktand may Icev clamped-inany, desired. position by means of-v acthumbt nut... I 216' which. is.

adaptedtoLdraW. .togetherthe. bi'iurcatedfend. I 23 25 of vthe socket member. .I 22;; Adjacent the. other, endnfrod 1-2 Lis positioned a. cross. su pnrt,mem-,.. berLJv 2]; on..wh1'ch are. mounted a p1ura1itymr-u shapedlclarnps 12.8. adaptedato. engage the} end.

I 30.lof.th'e.bent -rod..support I'I ti w Rod .i I6. is bent ate-suitable angles asibestsshown in. .Figure 6, so;.' as to support the airbrushesmand accessories for. same adjacenttheend oirodI I Baby. means of. a double clamp I 32;. Clamp. I.32, best..se'en infiigure 3,;is .a' .rightangle. clamprhavingatvro, ueshap'ed. 35

clamp:v .Jaws. .I 39; and. I 36.} iat ..,opp.osite; ends ...and adapted toclampingly engageirod. II L6..and.airline. I 38; respectively; such fdesignrpermits the spray uns,, 161"to. be..,.positi.oned at anyrdesiredf location,

horizontally. and. vertica1ly, relative to theyvork 40 toheisprayem a a The'supporting meansrf or. th'estenil piatesi flf I comprises .a .bu'shingmember .l lllmounted' on the. supporting, plate ,I 18.; .shaftfltM. is v.1 slidably' mounted orrthis'lbus'hing Aucross support, I42Ais 45 fixedlyimounted onshaft I I land adapted to sup; porta plurality .Qf ,clamp-stol engage a pluralityof supporting a11ms 68; Aqcl'am'pnlds ispositioned adjacentuthe.endlofrod. f I. I 4, the. clampengaging supporting rod.53.;..This;.arrangement Otparts p rmits the stencil, platellil tolbdpositioned. 'hori: zontally and verticallyfor. the.;work in thatv cross support I42 is adjustable. on shait. lie. and rod 68 1's extensible or, retractible} relative to .clamp I 4.3;, Iriirespect to the positioning of the. stencil. plates 1 0 and the corresponding .airbrushes; 1 t; it Willloe'- noted in'Fig'uree that. theyhave. beenipoa. V. sitioned on every other objectfi passin'gbeneath. them: Itj'shQuldgbe/understood,lthat ..this was.

made for describing the. arrangement, or. parts and to facilitate illustration of same. Furthermore, the stencil plate. 10 might all be joined together and supported by one support arm 68 to accomplish the same result,

The airbrush -16;-'disclosedin Figure 6; is simi- G5 larg.toLthat-disclosed; inrprevious patents of mine,

but obviously could be of anybrand on themarket. The airbrush disclosed is comprised of a nozzle device I55 with a paint container I 58 attached thereto. trol the fiow, of paint into the: head of thenozzle. Compressed air. is .conducted 130..th3 nozzle I 66 through tfiexible tubing. .145' and airline. I381 ...A header I I2 :isiprovidecl between; the valve. I2 and the flexible tubing I46, having a pluralityof con- 7 5 A valve I10 is provided to .con-;70

nectmginipplesefliadanti dto receive 7 a plurality of..t.ubes.-I.4.6..

Mounted-- on .the conveyon chain I 2, as here.- toforev indicated,-..are-.a plurality. of article supportsrl 3.; .Incrden to. assure: the maintenance of. these-supilQrts in. an. uprightnposition, a spring urging gmember i52rand a guide bar I54 are pro vided alongsthe. -conveyor .belt in :the: vicinity of the spraying .unit on Opposed-sides of the chain I 2, sorthatrthe supports I3 are. held in .an upright predetermined position .duringathe, spraying pperation.:: In. addition,.. the spring member.-..I52-.

serves to keep spray particles from the gun from fallingonto.thearticle,supports I3 and conveyor chain :IZ-H. On -the opposite-side of the conveyorv chain I2Z is positioned a guardl56-Whicn serves. to shieldoth supports.I3 and conveyor chain I2 from paint..-particles..in a similar fashion to plate I52: ,Thelend, of. .the. uard I 56 is positioned :be neath guide bar vI 54 to insurea substantial seal.

Thesabove flescription and the drawings re-. ierreclto; therein were: used for the purposes oi.

illustrating sand describingsa preferred embodimerit.of;the.-present:'invention; vl-lowever, applicant -,tvishes.--it to .be. understood-. that he. ;is. not to be limitedsto theselements and--theirarrange-. ment :except I as may. be, limited by; the following.

claims;

I claims,- l 1. An automatic coating apparatus-comprisinga base a conveyor element mounted onsaid base andip fevidedr with spaced-apart article supports,

a carriage 5positione(ii-adiaQentsaid conveyor. ele:

ment,.-means tea-reciprocate said carriage in syne; chronism withisa-id-a conveyor element, Spraying means mounted .on.: said-carriage, stencil: plates,

mounted on said? carriage; so as mto be vertically. reciprocable, and control. 'means. to synchronize the vertical movement :of ,said. stencil plates. and

the operation of: said-spraying .means- With the. movement of said "carriage: in synchronism with. said. conveyor element..-

2. .A multiecolor. coating apparatusacomprising a support, :an- .endlesgoonveyor mounted onsaid support; articlesupportsmounted on said con--v veyor, 1 a =slidablymounted" carriage positioned adj acentisaid conveyor, spray guns, supported; on

said carriage,=:stencil-; plates supported on. :said.

carriage meansyto reciprocate said plates in-.;a

vertical direction, and control meansv .to' .syn-:.1

chronize-the horizontal; movement ofysaid carriageprthe. vertical .-..movement:,of.i said stencil plates; and theoperation of said. spray guns with the -.movement.-.of-.said conveyor.

3. An.. automatic aircoating apparatus r com: prising a base, a conveyor element mounted on said base :and Provided with spaced-apart article 1 supports, .a reciprocable carriageslidably mount-. zed-adjacent said conveyorelement, means to. re.- I ciprocatesaid carriage irrtimedirelationwith the movementofssaid.articleisupports, a plurality of" automatically operated' .airbrushes "mounted .on said we arriage-p. a plurality: of: stencil; plates. slidably i'mounted "on: said: carriage? and adapted .to 1

beg-5movedrrrelativer thereto; said stencil plates positionedsbetweerr saidaairbru'shes and said artii clersupportspand control means tosynchroniza they-movement; of said stencil. plates ..with the.

operation of said airbrushesiand the. movement of said carriagewiththeLmovement of said conveyorselementzs.

4 multi-icolor airpaintingfi apparatus com-- prising a' bas'e;-:a conveyor means. mounted on said: base: and: provided; with article 1 supports, :a

reciprocable carriage mounted adjacent said con- 7. veyor means on said base, means to reciprocate said carriage, said means comprising a wheel rotatably mounted on said carriage, a cam wheel attached to a driving means, and spring urgin means'to retain said wheel and cam wheel in contacting relation, a plurality of airbrushes mounted-onsaid carriage, a plurality of stencil plates slidably mounted on said carriage and positioned between said airbrushes andsaid article supports, and control means to synchronize the movement of said stencil plates with the move-- ment of said carriage in synchronism with saidconveyor chain and the operation of the airbrushes.

5. A multi-color airpainting apparatus com-- prising a base, a conveyor mounted on said base, article supports mounted on said conveyor, a movable carriage positioned adjacent said conveyor, means toreciprocate said carriage in timed relation with the movement of said article supports, a plurality of spray guns mounted on said carriage, a plurality of stencil plates slidably mounted on said carriage, means to reciprocate said stencil plates in a vertical direction, each of said stencil plates having an aperture therein, each aperture positioned to expose an area to be painted, and control means to synchronize the movement of said carriage with the movement of said stencil plates and the opera-' tion of said spray guns with the movement of said -conveyor.

6. An automatic aircoating apparatus comprising a hood and an exhaust means connected thereto, a conveyor means arranged to pass through said hood, a plurality of article supports mounted on said conveyor means and adapted to support a plurality of objects to be sprayed, a movable support member, an airbrush mounted on said movable support member, means for moving said support member successively in one direction in synchronism with the movement of each succeeding article support, a plate mounted on said movable support member so as to be vertically reciprocable, means to vertically reciprocate. said plate in synchronism with the movement of each succeeding article support, said plate having apertures therein for exposing predetermined areas of said objects, and means to render said airbrush efiective to spray said objects when said plates arepositioned adjacent said objects.

'7. A multi-color airpainting apparatus comprising a hood and exhaust means connected thereto, a plurality ofarticle supports arranged to pass through said hood and adapted to carry objects to besprayed, means for moving said article supports through said hood, a plurality of spray guns mounted on a movable support member, a plurality of stencil plates movably mounted for vertical movement on said support member, each of said stencil plates provided with apertures exposing predetermined areas of the object to be sprayed, means for moving said support member in one direction periodically in synchronism with the movement of said article supports, means for positioning said stencil plates adjacent the .objects to be'sprayed, and means to render said spray guns effective to spray said objects when said'stencil plates are positioned adjacent said objects.

8. An automatic airplariting apparatus comprising a hood and an exhaust means connected thereto, an endless conveyor element arranged to pass through said hood, a plurality of article supports mounted on said conveyor element and ably mounted for vertical movement onsaid:

movable support member, means adapted to vertically reciprocate said plate in synchronism with the movement of each succeeding article support,

and means to render said airbrush effective tospray said articles successively.

9. An automatic coating apparatus comprising a base, a conveyor mounted on said base and provided with spaced apart article supportsstencil plates mounted adjacent said conveyor for move-- ment therealong in synchronism therewith, means for reciprocating said stencil plates in a vertical direction whereby to place said stencil plates in operative position over certain article supports for a predetermined period of time, spraying means mounted adjacent said conveyor, means to move saidspraying means in synchronism with said conveyor and in operativeposition relative to said stencil plates to spray articles on said article supports, and control means to synchronize the movement of said stencil, plates and" the operation of said spraying means ment of said conveyor.

10. An automatic coating apparatus compris ing a base, conveyor means mounted on said base and having article support means carried thereby, carriage means positioned adjacent said conveyor means and movable relative thereto, spraying means and stencil means both mounted on said carriage means for movement therewith, means for moving said carriage means rearward-';

- 1y of the direction of -movement of the conveyor coating operation, and means controlling opera-,

tion of said spraying means.

11. An automatic coating apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the control means includes cam mechanism for positioning said stencil means over the article supports during forward movement of the carriage means and for shifting the. same away from the article supports during rearward movement of the carriagemeans at the completion of the coating operation.

JENS A. PAASCHE.-

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the.

file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date 705,085 I-Iormby July 22, 1902 836,483 Burdick Nov. 20, 1906 1,188,648 Hastings June 27, 1916 2,373,604 Schweitzer Apr. 10, 1945 with the move- 

